From the World to Your Table.

The next time you eat dinner, look closely at the food on your plate.

If you are eating in the summertime, it's possible that some of the food comes from your own garden.

Some might come from the local farmer's market.

However, most of your food probably comes from far away.

For centuries, people grew their own food and ate it themselves, keeping some for the long winter.

In some countries, people continue to do this.

However, agriculture has changed a great deal in the last hundred years.

Most people no longer grow their own food.

They buy it in supermarkets and grocery stores.

Some of the food they buy comes from small family farms, but much of it comes from large corporate farms.

Companies process and package most of this food before it gets to the supermarket.

For example, they make orange juice from oranges.

They also make flour from wheat.

And then they make bread from the flour.

Would you like to know where your food comes from?

You can check yourself.

Most food labels give this information.

You may be surprised at what you discover.

The map below gives just a few examples of countries that export food to places around the world.

Thanks to modern agriculture, people around the world can enjoy apples from South Africa, pineapples from Costa Rica, and tomatoes from Mexico.

They can eat pasta from Italy, kimchi from Korea, and cheese from Holland.

They can enjoy this food without traveling to these places.

Instead, the food travels to them.

100 miles is the distance that food travels to get to us.

For example, a person who lives in Japan may buy kiwi fruit that comes from New Zealand.

This kiwi fruit has to travel 5,800 miles—9,300 kilometers—to get to this person.

Airplanes, ships, trains, and trucks may bring this food.

This transportation uses a lot of fuel that can cause pollution.

When food travels, some of it needs to stay cool, which takes more energy and fuel.

Also, companies put chemicals on food to help it last longer while it travels.

These chemicals may not be good for our health.

In our modern world, most people can't grow all the food they need.

However, there are four things you can do to help decrease energy and keep food healthy and delicious.

1. Buy food that farmers grow in your area.

2. Buy organic food, which doesn't have chemicals on it.

3. Buy whole food with less processing and packaging.

4. Try to grow more of your own food.

It's convenient to buy food from all around the world.

However, there may be farmers very close to you who grow the same food.

By choosing local food, you can save energy, improve your health, and help local businesses.

As people say, eat locally, think globally.

Thank you for watching.